1492 eBook

Guacanagari said that Caonabo had invited them to
a feast. It was spread in three houses, and they
were divided so, and around each Spaniard was put
a ring of Indians. They were eating and drinking.
Caonabo entered the first house, and his coming made
the signal. Escobedo and Pedro Gutierrez were
in this house. They raised a shout, “Undone,
Spaniards!” But though they were heard in the
other houses—­these houses being nothing
more than booths —­it was to no use.
There followed struggle and massacre; finally Gutierrez
and Escobedo and eight men lay dead. But certain
Indians were also killed and among them a son of Caonabo.

It was July. We began to long toward the Admiral’s
return. A man among us went melancholy mad, watching
the sea, threatening the rain when it came down and
hid the sea, and the Admiral might go by! At last
he threw himself into ocean and was drowned.
Another man was bitten by a serpent, and we could
not save him. We were twelve Spaniards in La
Navidad. We rested friends with Guarico, though
now they held us to be nothing more than demigods.
And indeed by now we were ragged!

Then, in a night, it came.

Guacanagari again appeared. It had reached him
from up the river that Caonabo was making pact with
the cacique of Marien and that the two meant to proceed
against us. Standing, he spoke at length and
eloquently. If he rested our friend, it might
end in his having for foes Maguana and Marien.
There had been long peace, and Guarico did not desire
war. Moreover, Caonabo said that it was idle
to dread Caribs and let in the mighty strangers!
He said that all pale men, afraid of themselves so
that they covered themselves up, were filled with
evil zemes and were worse than a thousand Caribs!
But Caonabo was a mocker and a hard-of-heart!
Different was Guacanagari. He told us how different.
It all ended in great hope that Caonabo would think
better of it.

We kept watch and ward. Yet we could not be utterly
cooped within La Navidad. Errands must be done,
food be gathered. More than that, to seem to
Guarico frightened, to cry that we must keep day and
night behind wall with cannon trained, notwithstanding
that Caonabo might be asleep in the mountains of Cibao,
would be but to mine our own fame, we who, for all
that had passed, still seemed to this folk mighty,
each of us a host in himself! And as nothing
came out of the forest, and no more messengers of
danger, they themselves had ceased to fear, being like
children in this wise. And we, too, at last;
for now it was late August, and the weather was better,
and surely, surely, any day we might see a white point
rise from blue ocean, —­a white point and
another and another, like stars after long clouded
night skies!

So we watched the sea. And also there was a man
to watch the forest. But we did not conceive
that the dragon would come forth in the daytime, nor
that he could come at any time without our hearing
afar the dragging of his body and the whistling of
his breath.